P-03-236: The Charter for Grandchildren – Additional Information from Petitioner
Dear Sian, 19th January 2013
Thank you for your email of the 14th January 2013 advising us of the next meeting of the Petitions Committee which is to be held on the 29th January 2013.
We have had no correspondence from you to respond to, so we suppose that the correspondence written by us to the committee for the meeting of the 20th November 2012 will be available at the above committee meeting.
Even with the inclusion of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child in Domestic Law supported by the Social Services Wales Bill the position of many grand/parents being denied access to their grand/children is still intolerable and cluttering our family and county courts.
Such long term court actions have a detrimental consequence on some children which is agreed by governments, without them taking radical action to guillotine cases that go on for years, as many of them do, at colossal cost to the individuals involved and tax payers.
We still wish to pursue, equal rights for parents and compulsory mediation which we think would assist the courts.
We welcome the amount of support that is available from Cafcass Cymru’s website as well as the information accessible on the Social Serves Wales Bill but only when society recognises the needs of children to have contact with the people that they love and cherish, will we start eradicating the emotional damage inflicted on many children.
A Charter for Grandchildren supports the family and puts children first.
It is a concept created to protect the rights of the child and does not come into conflict with any other legislation which would appear to be similar in aims and principles.
It compliments them and we believe given your support, it would lead to a greater recognition of the importance that grandparents are to children which is acknowledged by all governments in the UK.
Kind regards.
Frank Bradfield.
Grandparents Apart Wales